Today Square Enix hosted the keynote of Final Fantasy XIV FanFest in Tokyo, and Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida had a lot of new information to share about the upcoming expansion Shadowbringers.
First of all, we saw an extended version of the trailer of the expansion, which you can see below.
The trailer introduced a new city and new locations. Apparently, we’ll get to go to the alternate world called “The First” in the region named Norvandt. The mission will be to restore the darkness to that realm.
How and why this will happen will be explained with the story update coming with the next patch on March 26.
We get to see the first look at a new city hub built around The First’s version of the Crystal Tower with a few screenshots and a video. This city is named The Crystarium and it’s where many have gathered to fight against the end brought by the Light.
A second city is Eulmore where the affluent and the rich have gathered to just live in comfort until the end comes. It looks like Limsa Lominsa, but it’s different in many ways.
Even for Eulmore, we get to see a video and a few screenshots.
Then we move on to Lakeland, which is the area closest to Crystarium. We also get to see some in-game footage of this one. It’s the area where the players will begin their adventure, where people believing in the legend of the Warrior of Darkness dwell. They believe a someone will come to save them from the Light.
Incidentally, there is no night in The First. Yet, there are all kinds of special weather.
We then get to see a few screenshots of the dungeons that will come with the expansion.
After that, we move on to learn about another new job, the Dancer, which will be a ranged DPS using throwing weapons. They will perform dances to execute abilities. Some of them will also buff party members. The job quest to become dancer will be in Limsa Lominsa.
Below you can see a video and artwork, showcasing their looks for both female and male players.
Yoshida-san then presented a new beast tribe, the Dwarfs. In the First, the lalafell actually aren’t the same as in our world. They are Dwarfs, they are a beast tribe and they live in the mountains. Below you can see their looks and and a few screenshots of their villages, which are tiny.
We also get to see a handy diagram of the corresponding names for the races in The First.
Next, we get to see enemies named Sin Eaters, and a powerful one named Innocence, who plays an important role in the story.
Next on the menu is the high-end raid. The name of the new series is “Eden.” A hint about it can be seen in the screenshot below. Character and monster design for this raid will be handled by Tetsuya Nomura. You can also enjoy one of the characters he designed. Her name is Gaia, and she wields a hammer (which is interesting because there are no hammers in Eorzea).
Last, but not least, we get to take a look at a second race that will be added in addition to Viera.
Since Viera will be only female for lore reasons, a male-only race is coming, and its name is Hrothgar. You can check them out below.
Both races will have very unique customization options and two clans. Viera and Hrothgar are their names in The Source, while in The First they’re named Viis and Ronso. I see what you did there, Yoshi-P!
If you want to know more about Final Fantasy XIV and its upcoming expansion Shadowbringers, you can check out the official trailer and Gunbreaker job, the reveal of some new areas, the Viera race, the YorHa raid, and more, some official screenshots and art pieces released after the previous keynote, and some fantastic artwork.
If you want to get ready before the expansion’s release, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is currently available for PS4 and PC, and a few more updates are coming, including a Final Fantasy XV crossover, and more story content.
Shadowbringers will officially launch on July 2 for PS4 and PC.
